‘We cherished him’: Dublin bids farewell to rock singer Christy Dignam

Mourners have said they loved and cherished Christy Dignam, frontman of band Aslan, as thousands turned out to bid farewell to the Irish rock legend.

His funeral was held in Dignam’s hometown of Finglas, Dublin.

Dignam was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer in 2013 and his daughter Kiera Dignam announced that he had died peacefully at home on Tuesday June 13.

Thousands lined the streets for the funeral procession of the lead singer of the multi-platinum band to pay their respects.

Many wore Aslan T-shirts and the crowds sang along to some of the band’s biggest hits including Crazy World and This Is as the funeral procession stopped in Farnham Drive.

Dignam’s wife Kathryn, daughter Kiera and grandchildren Cian, Jake and Ava were applauded by those gathered when they stepped out of the car following the hearse.

The family were consoled by Irish artist Guggi, once a member of post-punk band Virgin Prunes and close friend of U2’s Bono, and Kiera embraced a member of the crowd who presented her with flowers.

Olive Briody, donning an Aslan T-shirt, travelled from Westmeath to be part of the send-off for Dignam.

“I’ve been travelling for the last 30 years after Christy, there will never be another one, so I had to say goodbye,” she said.

She added: “I’ve seen him from Kerry to Dublin to everywhere all over the country.

“And he was a friend as well as an entertainer, he was an all-around good guy.”

Asked if she felt Dignam was an Irish icon, Ms Briody said: “Completely, there’ll never be anyone else to take his place. Never.”

Helen Moriarty, who became emotional as the hearse passed, said she was devastated at Dignam’s passing.

“We loved him, we cherished him,” she said.

She added: “I’ve been following him since the 80s, late 80s. Devastated, really devastated.

“He was just a gent and he was, like I said, a brilliant musician, brilliant singer, storyteller, and he was great to everybody. He made everybody feel special.”

A screen showed clips and photographs of Dignam’s performances from his 40 years of entertaining.

A message was played from former Late Late show host Ryan Tubridy paying tribute to Dignam, who appeared on the show a number of times, notably with Irish folk star Finbar Furey in 2017 when the two performed Eric Bogle’s The Green Fields Of France.

Dignam had a troubled early life, reporting sexual assault on several occasions as a child.

In the 80s he suffered with heroin addiction, which is commonly cited as a cause of the band breaking up after their successful first album.

Dignam was open about his struggles with addiction in his autobiography This Is Christy Dignam, where he discusses his addiction and road to rehabilitation through a programme in a Buddhist monastery in Thailand in 2004.

He was born in Finglas, Dublin, in 1960 and formed Aslan in the early 1980s.

In 1988 the band recorded their debut album, Feel No Shame, which went to number one in Ireland.

Not long after the band broke up, with Dignam forming duo Dignam & Goff and other band members pursuing other ventures, with commercial success not comparable to that of Aslan.

Aslan reunited for a one-time charity gig, but decided to reunite officially, and the following single Crazy World entered the Irish singles chart at number four and managed to stay in the chart for three months.

The band’s studio albums include Feel No Shame, Goodbye Charlie Moonhead and Here Comes Lucy Jones.

President Michael D Higgins and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar paid tribute to Dignam following his death on Tuesday.

Mr Higgins said Dignam and his bandmates made “an enormous contribution to the cultural life of our nation”.

He added: “Christy was central to that connection, with his passionate performances ensuring a memorable night every time Aslan played – and there were many nights with Christy and the band showing an endless dedication to touring throughout the country.”

Mr Varadkar said Dignam was a “legend of Irish music and a great Dubliner as well”.